FedEx shifts ground in New Hampshire
FedEx Ground looks to stave off labor-focused legal challenges to a company business model based on independent contractors.
FedEx Ground is changing the way it manages its driver operations in New Hampshire as the parcel carrier looks to stave off labor-focused legal challenges to a company business model based on independent contractors.
The initiative announced this week will have FedEx Ground negotiate agreements with drivers to manage geographic service areas that include multiple routes rather than the single-route contracts the company generally uses. The change mirrors a model FedEx Ground has started using recently in California to meet claims there that drivers should be classified as employees under state law.
FedEx officials say the changes in New Hampshire were the result of changes in state employment law there as well as recent regulatory decisions that have challenged the company’s claims that the drivers are independent owner-operators.
The change in New Hampshire will be effective May 30, when drivers will be required to operate under contracts that give them overall responsibility for managing pickup and delivery and for negotiating financial terms with FedEx.
